A New Acquisition and Autoguiding Camera for the ANU 2·3 m Telescope

A new, direct CCD acquisition and autoguiding camera is in use on the ANU 2.3 m telescope Nasmyth foci. The camera is a model AP7 manufactured by Apogee Instruments Inc. and is controlled by the MaxIm CCD camera control and image processing software developed by Diffraction Ltd. The factors influencing our choice of this new camera are discussed, and its performance, operation, and commercial control software are described. The new camera allows stellar objects as faint as B = 21.5 to be acquired on the Double Beam Spectrograph slit in 1.4″ seeing. The camera has far superior performance to the Fairchild intensified CCD cameras that it replaces. The improved acquisition and guiding permitted by this camera has already allowed several new scientific programs to begin on the telescope, including the use of aperture plates with the Double Beam Spectrograph.